Women fighting for peace

Activists demanding the closure of the Faslane nuclear submarine are carried away by police

On October 1, 2006 a group of activists began a protest aimed at closing the Faslane nuclear submarine base in Scotland. The campaign, which came to be known as Faslane 365, took the form of a series of blockades over the course of a year. Many of the blockades have been dominated by women.

Faslane is central to the UK government’s plans to build a new generation of nuclear weapons. It currently houses four Trident submarines armed with 58 Trident missiles and up to 200 warheads.

A number of the women who took part in Faslane 365 had been involved in protests against the cruise missiles housed at Greenham Common airbase in southern England in the 1980s.

In 1981, a small group of women marched on Greenham Common to set up a peace camp

In June 1980 the British government announced that RAF Greenham Common was to became the first UK base to house cruise missiles. Late the following year, a small group of women marched on Greenham Common to set up a peace Camp. It lasted for 19 years and in that period thousands of women from all over the world joined them in their peaceful protest. Greenham Common was viewed as one of the most successful global peace protests ever when the missiles were moved back to the US in 1991.

Many of the protesters from Greenham Common have now dispersed. But women are still at the heart of the fight against the presence of nuclear weapons. The current blockade at Faslane has been going for a year. But Faslane Peace Camp has been occupied continuously since 1982 – that is 25 years of non-violent campaigning – and its residents say it is the oldest peace camp in the world.

Watch part one of Everywoman – Faslane 365 on YouTube

Watch part two of Everywoman – Faslane Peace Protest on YouTube

This episode of Everywoman aired from Friday January 04, 2008

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